Journeying is a powerful tool but it requires you to set time aside for it. There are myriad ways outside the journey process to invite the shamanic worldview to infiltrate the rest of your life. 

The most important concept for you to integrate is that all beings are inspirited, which includes sentient beings, rocks, plants, the elements, ideas, relationships, tracts of land, buildings, cars—everything is a spirit that you could visit on a journey. We encourage you to acknowledge that spirit even when you are not on a journey and are walking about in your daily life. 

The process of noticing is critical. Recognize that if you are noticing something it is because it wants your attention! See the beauty in all and watch how easily you can connect. These connections will deepen and come more easily with time. Acknowledge it, and try to intuit its message.

Relax, breathe in the light, and allow what no longer serves to release with the out breath. Open your heart and let the Light radiate 360 degrees from within your heart center, hold the intention to activate your senses and trust.

Exercise: Engage in dialogue with a creature you encounter. If a living creature has shown itself to you, or made a sound that you heard, acknowledge the presence. Drop into your heart space and communicate from there, letting it know that you’ve seen/heard it. Be open to receiving anything it might want to communicate in whatever ways it might choose. You might also try this with the wind, a tree, a stream, a cloud, a flower—anything from the natural world that has captured your attention. 

Exercise: Find a rock out in nature that is about the size of a large baking potato—for the purpose of this exercise, the ideal size is bigger than an apple but no larger than a grapefruit. The rock should be in its natural state, not one that has been tumbled or polished or altered in any way. When such a rock captures your attention, enter into dialogue with it and ask it if you could bring it with you. Listen for an answer and do not collect the rock unless you get a definite feeling of “Yes!” 

You can either bring the rock home or find a quiet space near its home to do this exercise. Settle your awareness into your heart and hold the rock in your hands. Ask it to tell you a story. Then carefully observe each side of the rock and speak aloud or write down what it is showing you. The bumps, fissures, and lines in the rock might present pictures or you might hear a story in your head or you might hear a song—it will depend on you, and the rock. You could also present the rock with a problem or question instead of just asking for a story.

When you have received the information and the exercise feels complete, thank the rock for sharing with you and ask if it wants to stay with you or be returned to the place you found it. Honor its wishes, and if it wants to stay, find it a place where you will honor and appreciate it.

Exercise: Go outdoors and walk. You might follow a path or just walk aimlessly. As you’re walking, write down what draws your attention. Sights, sounds, sensations-if it commands your attention long enough for you to notice it consciously, make note of it. Stop after you’ve made note of 12 things. Sometime later when you can be quiet and alone for a few minutes, relax into a meditative state and consider your list. Can you glean any information from it? Does your list offer you any guidance or tell you a story?

Exercise: Think of a situation that is concerning you at this time or a decision you need to make.  Don’t seek an answer, just get a clear sense in your mind of something you’d like to know or better understand. Then set the issue aside and go on a walk or hike somewhere in nature you love. Over the course of your walk, pay attention to the inanimate beings (natural objects) you notice. Focus specifically on those that you could fit in your pocket or bag, like rocks, acorns, feathers, leaves, shells... When you notice something, engage in a dialogue with it and ask whether it would like to come with you. Honor its answer! If you get a “no” or don’t sense an answer, leave it where it is. If you get a yes, thank it for its willingness to help you and bring it with you. Collect 4-6 inanimate beings.

When you get home, arrange them in a way that seems meaningful to you. Do the objects, the place you found them, or your dialogue with them offer any insight about the situation you pondered before your walk? Does your arrangement speak to the situation ? Can you discern any meaning or pattern that might be significant?

After you’ve worked with the beings in this way, thank them for their help. Ask each inanimate being whether it would like to stay with you or return to its place of origin. Again, honor its answer. If it consents to stay, find a place for it where you can acknowledge and appreciate it often.